Originally Posted by SnowLeopard

Many, many years ago, there was a scifi game called Overlord (or Supremancy) where one starts off peacful colonizing planets, but there is a bad guy alien, and one must soon raise armies, win, or eventually be beheaded on their knees.

I rather liked it, play it every now and then, and as realism goes, it teaches 3 or 4 things.

First all, if a government is going to survive at all, it needs to build a good tax base. Without public funds from taxes, it soon becomes lost. Secondly, there are many ways to make a military. One doesn't necessarily need the most or the best but can probably accomplish more with somewhere in between.

Third, when fighting a way, make it very expensive for him. He has to build from public funds as well, has to build an infrastructure, and if you can't kill him outright, attack his infrastructure on the expensive parts so he has to spend a lot of money replacing it. Cut away his muscle, leave him the fat. (and protect your infrastructure so he doesn't do the same thing to you)

Finally, and while in a game it is hard to appreciate this, it is still there. One will probably end up sending thousands of troops to their death, sacrificing them on one way missions to keep him busy, knock him down, till they can get in the position for the final fight. In the game, they are just little electrons and such, but having actually been in charge of troops, that feeling was still there (although I've never ordered anyone to their death).
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("Everyone dies sometime, McBride; it's just a question of when."--XO Borg prepping the guy who is going to be toast while repairing the engines, saving the ship, (w,stte), "Solar Crisis")